


How Long Is Forever?

by xanavici



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Accidental Time Travel, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Don't let that tag fool you it's a lot of angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, background BunnyRibbit, background symbra - Freeform, mention of anahardt, mention of zarymei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-03 05:31:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13334505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xanavici/pseuds/xanavici
Summary: Time travel was never on Hanzo's agenda for the day, but as the universe likes to remind him, he rarely gets what he wants.  Thrown 20 years into the future Hanzo has to figure out how the world has changed, where his friends have gone, and how to get back before it's too late.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Good news, I really have learned my lesson this time! This fic is completely written so as long as I remember it will update every Wednesday.
> 
> And the biggest thanks and all my love goes out to McTiddiezo for beta reading this for me and for just being an amazing friend in general, love ya bae.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy the angst.
> 
> (Also for this first chapter, minor warning for puking. Nothing explicit, just one mention)

Everyone knows the mission is going to be hard.  A full out assault on one of Talon’s main American west coast bases guarantees that.  Winston didn’t even want to attempt it, but when Reaper returned from the dark side with a couple new allies and a cache of top secret information on the terrorist organization, it was too good of a opportunity to pass up.  So every available agent loaded up in jump jet and headed off to the United States.

Despite the seriousness of the mission, that doesn’t stop Jesse from being, well, Jesse.  Hanzo has long since given up trying to pretend that he doesn’t enjoy the attention and warmth that he receives from Jesse.  No one would believe that lie anymore and besides, he doesn’t want to hide his affection for his boyfriend.  He’s spent enough of his lifetime repressing his emotions and feelings at the request of others.

“So I’m thinkin’ that lil’ Brazilian steakhouse, a nice bottle of wine or two, a charmin’ conversational partner in the form of yours truly, an’ finishin’ the evening out with a walk along the cliffs.  Whaddya say?”

Hanzo pretends to mull it over in his mind as he inspects Stormbow.  “I am not sure.  It all sounds very nice but the conversational partner might be a deal breaker.”

Jesse slumps down in his seat and clutches his chest dramatically.  “My honeybee, goin’ straight for the kill shot with no mercy.  Angie, I need a doctor!  I’m sufferin’ from a broken heart.”

“Will you two focus up?”  Morrison’s gruff voice calls out from across the carrier.  “We’ll be arriving in less than an hour and you need to get ready.”

“And we will be, old man.  Don’tcha worry yer shiny, silvery head.”  Morrison instinctively covers his hair with a hand and storms off to the cockpit.  

“So, how ‘bout it, honey?”  Jesse asks again. 

Hanzo fights to get his quiet chuckles under control.  “You do not even have to ask, my love.  If you stay safe out there today I will gladly join you for dinner.”

“It’s a deal,” Jesse says with a brilliant smile and a quick peck on Hanzo’s lips.  Hanzo pulls him back in for a little longer kiss before he gets too far away.  He loves kissing Jesse.  When they first started dating it was more exhilarating than releasing the dragons in battle and never failed to get his blood boiling.  Nowadays, years later, the kisses aren’t as electrifying but they do make Hanzo feel calm, peaceful, and safe at a level he’s never felt before.  They still get his blood boiling but now he can show a little more restraint and self-control until the time is right.

Hanzo pulls away slowly and takes pleasure in the glassy-eyed, blissed-out look on Jesse’s face.  He turns his attention back to recounting and re-checking his arrows while Jesse finally shakes out of his stupor and goes about checking Peacekeeper.

Their knees bump together for the rest of the flight but that’s all that passes between them as they do focus up for the battle.  Hanzo slides his arrows back into his quiver when he finishes and looks around the aircraft.  Looks like everyone has taken Morrison’s advice.  Hana is halfway under her MEKA doing last minute adjustments, Lúcio looks like he’s calibrating his amplifier, Doctor Ziegler is checking over the on board medical supplies for the fifth time, Genji and Zenyatta are meditating in the corner, and so on.  Everyone looks confident and ready, yet a small seed of doubt wriggles its way into the back of Hanzo’s mind.  He ignores it, confident in his teammate’s abilities.

When the carrier finally lands Hanzo and Jesse are the perfect images of the reputations they’ve garnered.  One more nod to each other, a brief moment of weakness, and they’re ready.  The team quickly and quietly disembarks and makes their way to the Talon base.  The information Reyes gathered while he was working as a double agent in the terrorist organization proves invaluable.  They sneak past the perimeter sensors and guards using blind spots and make it all the way to the building without raising any alarms.  Hanzo is sure Sombra helped with that.  

The team splits up to get in position at all the breach points and waits for the signal.  In their ears Athena counts down from ten and when she reaches zero, the stillness of the night is broken with the shattering of glass and warping of metal.

Hanzo rushes in through a high level window with Symmetra right behind him, killing all of the guards in the room lined with metal cells and prisoners with well-placed arrows raining from above.  Symmetra quickly undoes locks with some hard light manipulation then is back to covering Hanzo and they rush the get to the massive hangar where everyone is set to meet up and the fighting is guaranteed to be worse. 

They fight their way through the hallways, taking out anyone they come across, and burst into an upper level of the hangar.  It’s already a madhouse with gunfire and explosions echoing off the walls and Talon grunts falling like flies.  His teammates are also taking fire and getting injured but Mercy, Lúcio, and Zenyatta have a near flawless system going that’s taking care of most of the damage.  Hanzo stays up top and sets up cover fire while Symmetra makes her way down to the ground floor with a hard-light slide to set up her shield generator.  

Hanzo is eventually forced out of his perch after he takes out quite a few enemies and receives some superficial injuries.  Zenyatta attaches a harmony orb to him as he rapidly moves to find cover.  Ducking behind a large pillar Hanzo take a moment to catch his breath and scan the battlefield.  Most of the machinery has either been destroyed or rendered inoperable ensuring the fighting will stay contained to the area.  76 takes a bullet to the shoulder but Mercy’s there in a second to heal him up.  Talon’s numbers are thinning out considerably but more keep coming through various doors.  A majority of them are streaming through two doors on the far side of the room and seem to be grouping up for counter-attack.  Tracer and Genji are darting along opposite edges herding more of them into the center.  If Hanzo can get to the ground floor fast enough that would make a perfect target for his dragons.

“Agent Pharah, I require assistance in reaching the floor quickly without dying.”

_ “Read you loud and clear.  Let me know when you’re ready for a pick up.” _

With almost comedic timing, Hanzo watches a stray RPG fired from the group of Talon soldiers fly directly towards him.  Hanzo jumps and yells into the comm, “There is your signal!”

He hears Pharah let out a stream of curses into the comm and watches her boost up directly towards him.  They grab each other’s wrists and the momentum causes them to spin around a couple time until Hanzo can jam his fingers into the little crevices in her armor and steady himself.

“You have my thanks.”

“Well I didn’t want to be the one to ruin McCree’s date night.  You know how moody he gets when he doesn’t spend enough time with you.”

“Yes, I appreciate that as well.”

Pharah drops him off right behind Reinhardt’s shield and right next to McCree who’s slowly getting a gash on his cheek healed up by Lúcio.

“Well howdy there.  What’s a guy like you doin’ in a place like this?”  Hanzo rolls his eyes; this is really not the place to be flirting.  He smirks anyways and responds.

“Securing the objective.”  He brings a hand up to his ear to open his com.  “Tracer, Genji, push the enemy into the center as much as possible and be prepared for Dragonstrike.”  

He hears two affirmatives and counts to ten.  At the end of his countdown, Hanzo stands up, feels the electricity build in his body, then releases the dragons with their call.  The twins have been waiting for this since the moment they burst into the compound, writhing under his skin and waiting impatiently for the opportunity to sate their hunger.  Now that they are out, the sound they make is deafening and drowns out the noise of destruction and yells of terror.  Hanzo watches them tear through Talons ranks until they spiral through the far wall and return to the bond in his tattoo.  

It’s in the unnatural quiet of the next couple moments that he sees it, a grenade, arcing across the room headed straight for where Lúcio and Mei are standing.  Luckily, Lúcio sees it and speed boosts the two of them out of there.  Hanzo breathes a sigh of relief, until he sees Tracer unknowingly running and blinking sideways directly into the path of the grenade.  

He moves without thinking, dropping his bow and sprinting towards her.  He hears McCree call his name from behind him, but all of his focus is on making sure his teammate doesn’t blow herself up.  Not for the first time, Hanzo is glad he has an affinity for math because he estimates his trajectory perfectly and tackles Tracer from behind as she comes out of her blink.

For a second he thinks they’ll be okay.  Then he sees the grenade explode.  He closes his eyes and turns his head to avoid shrapnel.  The force of a second explosion tears him away from Tracer and send him flying.

Something Hanzo doesn’t expect: to be conscious enough to register that he’s flying through the air.

Something else Hanzo doesn’t expect: to still be flying when he knows he should have hit the ground or a wall by now.

Hesitantly, he cracks open his eyes, then flings them open when he sees what’s in front of him.  He has no idea where he is but he knows it’s not the battlefield.  Scenes of people he doesn’t know play out in front of his eyes while too many conversations flow around him.  All of the input is hurting his head and he slaps his hands over his ears and clamps his eyes shut to block it all out, not that it seems to be helping.

_ “-nzo!  Hanzo!  Don’t look!  It- be- alright-”  _ He thinks he hears Tracer’s voice somewhere out there but it keeps fading in and out and is almost impossible to hear clearly over the rest of the noise going on around him.  The noise keeps building, and so does the pressure in his head.  It’s rising to unbearable levels and he can’t handle it.

Just before it completely overwhelms Hanzo he feels the force of another explosions ripple through his body and then he’s falling.

He hits the ground with a thud and he immediately curls up into a ball to wait for the white noise ringing in his ears to stop.  Very slowly, it fades away while his other senses come back online.  He feels rough concrete and gravel under his body, the smell of baking garbage, sunlight streaming through his eyelids,  and the increasing sound of a bustling city.  It’s those sounds that confuse him, the Talon base was nowhere near a city.  And they were attacking in the middle of the night.

Hanzo slowly opens his eyes and sits up.  Too fast.  His stomach recoils and he dry heaves against the brick wall.  He tries to stand up a second time and actually makes it to his feet.  He walks to the end of the alleyway he apparently landed in and freezes.  The street is full of hover cars he’s never seen before and people quickly walking by wearing strange clothes.  No one gives him a second glance, not that he would notice because he’s too busy staring at the billboard on top of the building across the street.

**_Overwatch- peace for humans and omnics alike_ **

Underneath the slogan is a rendition of an older looking Fareeha, Lena, and Hana wearing the bright blue coats of the commander uniforms.

_ What the fuck is happening?  Where am I? _

_ “And in other news, today marks the tenth anniversary of the end of the Second Omnic Crisis.” _

Hanzo whips his head around to the display of hard-light TVs playing at the outside deck of a coffee shop.  He pushes people out of the way with mumbled apologies until he’s standing right in front of one with disbelieving eyes.  This can’t be right.  The Second Omnic Crisis was just a brewing problem in Russia as of yesterday.

_ “After being reinstated by the UN in 2073, Overwatch  troops and strike teams worked with the armies of almost every country in the world to eliminate the God AIs and infected omnics across 6 continents.  They ended the last of the battles in the frozen Siberian tundra where it all began seven years earlier.  Under the command of Strike Commander Amari and Commanders Oxton and Song, Overwatch once again became a beacon of peace and hope for all.   _

_ “Today we honor the sacrifices of the fallen soldiers…” _

Hanzo walks away from the screen in a daze.  This can’t be right.  None of this is real, it’s a hallucination.  That’s the only explanation.  He must have hit his head when that grenade went off and now his brain is piecing together random images to create this- this, future-verse.

But then again, if this was all just a dream he shouldn’t have the aftertaste of bile in his mouth.  He shouldn’t be able to feel the textures of his clothes and the metal of the buildings so acutely.   None of this should feel so real.

A news stand down the street catches his eye.  He runs towards it, pushing even more people to the side until he’s clutching today’s copy in his hand.  Two pieces of information stand out to him on the hard-light screen.  One: The headline  _ “Efi Oladele to become second youngest person at age 31 to accept Nobel Prize in Physics.”   _ Two: the date is June 15, 2099.  

Hanzo’s legs give out and he collapses on the sidewalk.

Twenty years in the future.

He’s twenty years in the future.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned how much I love McTidd? I have? Well I'm gonna tell you again because she drew absolutely beautiful fanart for this fic and now I owe her my life. Check it out [here](https://mctiddiezo.tumblr.com/post/169686982961/mctiddiezo-how-long-is-forever-by-xanavici)

“Sir?  Sir, are you alright?”

Hanzo flinches when a voice makes its way through the white noise in his ears and a hand touches his shoulder.  A stranger with a concerned look on her face recoils and takes a half step back.  He realizes he’s still sitting on the sidewalk and has amassed a small crowd around him.

“Sir, can you understand me?  Are you alright?”

“I-I am fine,” Hanzo chokes out.  He stands up shakily and returns the newspaper to the stand.

“Do you need anything sir?  To go to the hospital?  To call a friend?”

_ I need… I need to find out how I got here and what happened these past twenty years.  I need Overwatch.  I need my brother.  I need Jesse. _

“Overwatch,” he finally says.  “Where is the closest Overwatch base?”

“Umm, New York City.  Are you sure you’re okay sir?”

“I am fine.  What is the quickest way to get there?”

“Probably the commuter teleport pads on Albany and Newton street.  Go south three blocks then hang a right, can’t miss it.”

Hanzo starts running before another person can ask him any more questions he doesn’t have the answer to.  A small part of his brain is still yelling at him saying  _ ‘This isn’t real!’ _ .  He wants be believe it but knows he can’t.  

He reaches the pads quickly and pickpockets the funds he needs for a ticket before heading in.  Twenty minutes later he hands a ticket over to the operator and walks through a portal that looks very similar to Satya’s design.  The sensation is equally familiar as he steps into New York City.  He gets directions from a bored employee at the information desk and once again breaks into a run.

Hanzo almost misses the base when he gets there.  He was looking for the run down, half abandoned sight he was accustomed to back in Gibraltar, not the high tech, bustling compound he sees now.  On the other side of the chain-link fence he sees large groups of people running laps and practicing formations and drills.  He watches a jump ship take off in one smooth motion, none of the usually shaking that accompanies a takeoff when Lena or Fareeha are at the helm. 

Hanzo slowly continues walking, feeling half a step off balance.  He slides in behind a group of tourists walking into the public sector of the base and peels away from them once inside.  There has to be someone here that he knows, someone that can explain what the fuck is happening.  He wanders down immaculate hallways lined with working holovids that update with information about base operations and current news, avoiding personnel and going deeper into the base hoping to find a familiar face, however small the odds may be.

“Hey!  You!” Hanzo freezes.  Caught.  “You aren’t supposed to be back here.”  Hanzo turns around and straightens his back.  An Overwatch officer, high ranked based on her uniform and the bars pinned to her chest.  Only one way to play this.

“I need to speak to the highest ranking officer on this base, immediately.”

“Civilians aren’t allowed in this section of the base and civilians certainly can’t demand to just talk to Commander Song.”

Hanzo’s heart skips a beat.  “I need to talk to the Commander right away, tell her Hanzo Shimada is here,” he says with barely restrained urgency and excitement.  Hana will know what happened and how he got here, and he knows she can help him get back.

“Is that name supposed to mean something to me?  Because it doesn’t and you need to leave right now, let’s go.”

The officer grabs Hanzo by the arm and starts pulling him back towards the direction he came from.  Hanzo knows he could easily escape the hold and start looking for Hana himself, but that will probably just get him in more trouble and make it harder for him to get an audience with her.  He’s rapidly running out of options and he’s never been good at sweet talking his way out of situations like this.  That was always Jesse’s specialty.

“Athena, please notify security that they have a breach and that they are not allowed to let this man back in,” the officer calls out.

Wait.  Athena.  Of course.  Hanzo digs his heels into the ground and refuses to move.

“Athena!  Overwatch Agent number oh-one-three-five-oh, voice recognition password ‘huckleberry’.”

“What do you think you’re doing?  She’s not going to respond to you.  Now for the last time move!”

One second ticks by, then two, then three, and Hanzo panics.  This was his last chance.  Then Athena speaks with hesitation in her voice.

_ “Agent Shimada?  Is that really you?” _

“Yes!”  Hanzo almost starts weeping tears of joy.

_ “Agent Shimada, it is so good to hear from you again.” _

“You as well, Athena.  I need to speak to Hana immediately.”

_ “Of course, I’ll let her know she has a very important guest on his way to her office.” _

It’s comforting to Hanzo that some things haven’t changed in twenty years, like Athena’s mischievous side.  He breathes a sigh of relief and relaxes, until he notices the officer’s hand still wrapped around his bicep.

“I believe that was your cue to take me to the commander’s office,” he says with a sharp, unimpressed glare.  The officer recoils and snatches her hand back, looking chastised.

“Of- of course.”

Hanzo follows her as she walks quickly and quietly to the Commander’s office.  She leaves pretty quickly once they arrive leaving Hanzo alone in the long hallway.  He takes a deep breath to steady himself and raises his hand to knock.  

He freezes.  He can’t do it.

_ What if she doesn’t remember me?  What if she doesn’t believe me?  What if she hates me for disappearing like that? _

_ “Agent Shimada?”   _ Hanzo is startled out of his spiraling thoughts.

“Yes Athena?”

_ “She misses you.  They all do.” _

Of course she does.  He was her Player 2 when neither of them could sleep at night, too haunted by memories to do anything other than wander the base -or play video games.  Hanzo knocks this time and pushes the door open when he hears a muffled ‘enter’.

Hana’s turned sideways towards her computer, typing out something and not sparing a glance towards her visitor.  Hanzo’s taken aback by how different she looks, how mature and grown up she looks, and yet how she still looks the same.  Even sitting down she cuts an imposing figure in the bright blue uniform with a straight back, and muscled shoulders and arms that strain slightly against the fabric of the shirt.  Her hair is pulled up into a tight bun but the bottom half, from just above her ears to the base of her skull, has been shaved away.  During pauses in her typing Hanzo can see a rose gold ring on her left hand.  A wedding band?

“Look, I don’t have a lot of time to just stand around and stare,” she says without looking away from her computer.  “Say what you need from me then go so I can get back to work.”

“Hana,” Hanzo says softly.  She sighs and opens her mouth to remind her guest about rank and propriety, but all of her words die when she finally looks up and sees Hanzo.

“Hanzo?” she chokes out.  Hana stands up slowly and walks around her desk over to Hanzo.  Up close, he can see the stress lines on her forehead and the laugh lines in the creases of her eyes and corners of her mouth.  He also sees a faint scar across her left cheek right above where she used to wear her war paint.  With a shaky hand she reaches out and touches his shoulder. 

“It is me, Hana.”

Hana sobs and pulls Hanzo into a tight hug.  Hanzo hugs her back and feels his eyes start to water.  For him it’s been less than a day since he last saw her, but seeing her grown up like this makes it hurt more than it should.  For a while they just stand there and hold each other.

When Hana’s shoulders stop shaking she pulls away and wipes her eyes.

“God, Hanzo.  You’re alive!  Where have you been?  Why do you look the exact same?”

“I do not know, that is what I have been trying to figure out.  I have no idea what is going on besides that fact that I think I am twenty years in the future.”

“Twenty years in the- holy shit,” Hana steps back with wide eyes and grabs her head with her hand.  “We were right all along.”

“Excuse me?”

“When you disappeared some of us had the theory that you time travelled since you disappeared with Lena that day.”

“Lena went missing too?”

“Yea, but she re-appeared about a week later.  Her accelerator was damaged so she kept disassociating out of the time stream until Winston fixed it.  She told us that she thought she saw you when she was drifting through time but she wasn’t sure.  Being in that state messed with her memories.  Anyways, we tried looking for you and hoping you would just pop back up like she did, but you never did and it became an impossible search, looking for you in all of time and space.”

Hanzo’s head spins with this new information.  Time travel.  He knew it was possible, thanks to Lena, but he never thought he would experience it.  He just-- completely skipped the last twenty years.

“Whoa whoa whoa, sit down before you pass out on me.”  Hana shoves him down onto a couch in the corner and grabs him a bottle of water from a mini fridge.  When Hanzo’s sure he’s not going to pass out or throw up what’s left in his stomach he downs the whole water bottle at once.

“Does anyone else know you’re here?” she asks quietly.

“No, the first thing I did was come to this base, where I found you.”

“Okay, we need to let everyone else know, especially Fareeha.  She’s Strike Commander now so she needs to know about this.”

“Oh no.  Genji.  Jesse.  I need to find them first, let them know I’m okay.”  Pain flickers across Hana’s face briefly before she schools it back into a serious face. 

“We need to go to the headquarters in Gibraltar.  Athena?”

_ “Yes Commander?” _

“Cancel all my meetings for the rest of the week and tell ground control to start preparing a plane for Gibraltar.”

_ “Already done.  The plane should be ready to go in Hangar Twelve by the time you get there.” _

“Thanks.  Let’s go Hanzo.”  Hana grabs her coat, pulling it on as they walk to the hangar.  They actually stop by her quarters first so she can grab a go bag and then storage so Hanzo can get some clothes that aren’t ripped and dirty.  Fifteen minutes later Hana is at the controls of the plane and they’re taking off into the bright blue sky.

 

* * *

Hana joins Hanzo in the back of the plane once they’ve leveled off to a cruising altitude and she’s turned on autopilot.  She takes the seat right next to him and hands him a couple of protein bars.  She must of heard his stomach rumbling a couple minutes ago.  Hanzo notices her staring out of the corner of his eye but says nothing, only turns to face her more and give her a better angle.

“I’m sorry,” she says.  “It’s just weird.  You look exactly the same.”

“It is alright.  It is weird for me as well seeing you so much older.  I like the hair by the way.”

“Thanks.”  She rubs her hand over the shaven half almost self-consciously.  “… I was missing you.  A couple weeks ago marked twenty years and I didn’t want to forget you so yea…”  Hanzo reaches out and takes her hand, squeezing gently.  “I had lost fellow soldiers and friends before, but losing you was so much worse.  You were –are- like family and it just hurt so much.”

“I am sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize.  It wasn’t your fault.  None of this is.”

They fall into an uncomfortable silence that’s not entirely unwelcome.  This is the first opportunity since this whole ordeal started that he’s had to catch his breath and time travel aside, it’s coming up on 24 hours since he last slept.  He’s starting to crash.  Hard.

“It’s about an eight hour flight to Gibraltar.  Why don’t you get some rest and when we land we’ll answer all the questions I’m sure you have and we’ll figure out what our next step is.”

She’s right, Hanzo does need answers, but he’ll be no good if he’s too tired to process anything.  He nods and mumbles a ‘thanks’ when she pulls a blanket over him.  Just a couple minutes of rest, then he’ll get back to business.

* * *

 

 

Hanzo jolts awake when he feels the plane starting to descend.  Shit, he overslept

Hana’s no longer sitting in the seat next to him, must have gone back to the cockpit to land the plane.   Hanzo stands up and rubs the last bit of sleep out of his eyes.  He back protests and his head feels fuzzing.  Honestly, he feels more tired than when he went to sleep.  He joins her up in the front and watches her handle the plan effortlessly. 

“Sleep well?”  Hana asks without taking her eyes off the horizon.

“No, not really.  I am sorry I did not keep you company.”

“It’s alright, I kept busy.  You know, I always thought that Morrison was just being a grumpy old man when he used to complain about all the paperwork he had to do while he was a commander.  Now I know better.”

The plane passes through the cloud layer and a couple seconds later the Gibraltar base comes into view.  Just like the New York base it’s a bustling hub of activity.  Glass and steel and hard light and every bit the brilliance Winston wanted it to be when he first initiated the recall.  A fully staffed ground crew meets them once they’ve landed to take care of the plane.  Another group greets them at the exit of the hangar and gives Hana a salute.  They point her in the direction of the Strike Commander.  Apparently, she’s in a classified meeting so Hana has to go alone, leaving Hanzo to wait all by himself. 

The nap on the plane made him antsy and restless.  He knows he should stay put but he’s curious to see what’s changed and how a fully functioning Overwatch would look.  And there’s a good chance Jesse or Genji could be here too.

He takes to wandering.  Despite all the renovations the layout is mostly the same so he finds the dining and training rooms easy enough.  Though, dining hall and training center might be more appropriate names now.  Hanzo doesn’t see any familiar faces (not that he was expecting to) and continues on.  He finds Winston’s lab next, fully outfitted with what Hanzo assumes is the latest technology.  Half a dozen people in white lab coats shuffle around looking down at various instruments, completely oblivious to their visitor.  Winston himself isn’t in there so Hanzo walks back out and continues on.

His feet carry him towards the dorms.  He walks slowly down the hallways, reading the names on the door tags. 

_ Pražak, M _

_ Tessaro, N; Tracey, S _

_ Slusser, A _

_ McCree, J; Shimada, H _

Hanzo freezes.  He takes two steps back and stares at the door.  His door.  Their door. 

His heart starts racing and he carefully types in their old code.  It still works.  He smiles as the door slides open and he walks in.  He’ll finally get to see Jesse again.  Even if he’s not here he’ll come back eventually and things will be okay.

“Athena, please turn on the lights.”

It takes a second before they turn on.

Hanzo’s smile falls.

The room is completely empty, a layer of dust covers everything, no one has been in here for years.  Where are their silk grey bed sheets?  Their pictures that sit on top of the dresser?  The snow globes from around the world that they bought each other as gag gifts?  The stands for Stormbow and Peacekeeper?

“Hanzo.”

He whips around and sees Hana and Fareeha standing in the doorway with grim looks on their faces.

“Where is he?” he croaks.

Fareeha walks forward and places a hand on his shoulder.

“We have a lot to talk about.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's still wednesday so i didn't mess up completly!
> 
> Sorry for getting this out a little late, it was a very busy day for me. Anyways this chapter is a lot of exposition and world building which I know is not everyone's cup of tea but I really wanted to expand this future-verse.
> 
> Also warning for mention of alcohol abuse, but once again nothing explicit
> 
> Enjoy! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

Hanzo remembers a night, years ago, early in his and Jesse’s relationship that was bad for both of them.  A control mission in Rio to grab Vishkar data ended with both Fareeha and Genji in the hospital.  For hours, both men paced outside of the medbay doors.  Anxiety and fear ran rampant until finally, Angela and Lucio walked out and told them that both patients would be okay.

With unspoken words, Hanzo and Jesse went back to their still separate rooms, grabbed their respective bottles of alcohol, and met back up on the roof.  They sat next to each other, pressed together from knee to shoulder, and stared out over the Mediterranean.

“Ya think that I’d be used to this by now,” Jesse said after a few too many drinks.  “Ya know, the whole loved-ones-almost-dying thing.  Ya think it wouldn’t bother me this much anymore.  Been an Overwatch soldier for almost half my life now an’ I’ve seen this almost every other week, but I’m still absolutely terrified.”

Hanzo reached out and took Jesse’s hand.  “I am terrified as well.  I can not lose Genji again.”

“Doesn’t help that it reminds me of all the times I nearly bit the dust.”

“I thought that sort of thing never got to you gunslinger?”  Hanzo said in weak jest.  Jesse laughed hollowly.

“It didn’t, ‘til I got new reasons to keep on goin’.”  Jesse brought their clasped hands up and kissed the back of Hanzo’s.  “I thought I was gonna to die twenty-somethin’ years ago when Blackwatch busted us.  Thought I was gonna to die on half my missions.  Though I was gonna to die during those five years on the run.  I never expected to live this long and I don’t know how much longer I’ll live after this, but I am glad I at least got the chance to be with you, pumpkin.”

 

Hanzo remembers this night as he follows Fareeha through the hallways.  She was always an imposing woman, but it’s something else to watch the crowds part before her with a salute like the Red Sea.  Her title and position fits her well.  She doesn’t say anything as they walk which definitely doesn’t help his heart rate or anxiety, and his mind automatically goes to the worst possibility.  When they finally arrive at her office, she ushers them in and locks the door behind them.

“Before you freak out, Jesse’s not dead.  He just doesn’t work for us anymore,” Fareeha says.  All the breath leaves Hanzo’s body and his shoulders sag in relief.

“Thank you, Fareeha.”

She cracks a smile and wraps him up in a hug.  “It’s so good to see you again, Hanzo.”

He hesitates for only a split second before returning it.  “You as well.”

Early in the recall they didn’t get along well.  Hanzo was distrustful of everyone, especially military personnel who we was sure would arrest him in the name of justice.  Fareeha, like many others, only saw what he did to Genji.  It took awhile –and a little begging from Jesse- for the two to give each other a chance.  But once they did, an easy friendship was born out of respect, the same brand of dry humor, and affinity of deadly weapons.  Still, Hanzo didn’t expect to miss her this much.

Fareeha is the first to pull away after a long minute.  She takes the seat behind her desk and motions for Hana and Hanzo to take the two in front of it.

“Okay, time to get down to business.  Hanzo, what do you remember about the day you disappeared?”

Hanzo tells them about saving Lena, then the explosion. Flying through that weird place (which Hana interjects to explain was a place outside the natural flow of time), landing in an alleyway in Boston, and finding Hana in New York.

Fareeha lets out a long, drawn out breath.  “Well, that pretty much confirms Winston’s theory.  When Lena said she remembered seeing you while dissociating he guessed that you got blown out of the time stream as well but we had no way to prove it.”

“Winston will be happy to know that we was right,” Hana remarks.

“Yes, well, we can tell him that when he gets back from Horizon lab.”

“The Lunar Colony?” Hanzo asks.  Surely she can’t be talking about that decrepit old base.  The last time a team went up there the life support was barely working and the artificial gravity was spotty at best in some areas.

“Yea.  Oh right, we only started renovating it into an Ecopoint about five years ago.”

“What else has changed?” Hanzo asks hesitantly. 

A new Crisis, a new Overwatch, Jesse has left for some reason, and he still hasn’t heard anything about his brother.

“A lot,” says Hana simply.  “And I guess you could say it started with you disappearing.”

“What?”

“After we won the battle against Talon we spent weeks looking for you and Lena,” Fareeha says.  “Sifting through rubble, scanning the woods, checking the nearby towns.  Lena started popping up after a few days, flitting in and out of the time stream.  Winston built her a new accelerator and then she was more or less fine.  We chased down every lead we could find concerning you for years after that no matter how small.  Winston and the rest of the brain trust tried following up on what Lena saw but searching through all of time and space became an impossible task.

“Jesse…” Fareeha sighs.  “Jesse didn’t take it well.”

Hanzo’s chest tightens.  He’s only been separated from his cowboy for a couple days now and it hurts.  He can’t begin to imagine  _ years _ without him.

“How bad?” he chokes out.

“More smoking, more drinking –we think alcoholism but he was always good at hiding things he didn’t want people to see- and depression, again, we think.  He never did let Angela evaluate him.  Eventually we stopped seeing him outside of training and missions.”

Tears started prickling in Hanzo’s eyes.  It was all his fault.  He should have been there.

“In the meantime Talon got weaker as we took out more bases and the second omnic crisis boiled over,” Hana interjects.

Hanzo tries to discreetly wipe away the tears as she talks about how it only took three more years for Overwatch to take down Talon.  With all the information Reyes had gathered while working as a double agent and the backdoors Sombra had implemented it was almost too easy.  They destroyed bases, wiped out funds, and took out key leaders including Doomfist and Sanjay Korpal.  With the fall of Talon came the weakening of Vishkar.  Satya, and surprisingly Sombra, teamed up and took down the mega-corporation.

Things looked up for about a month, until the last dredges of Talon tried one last thing: jumpstarting the Second Omnic Crisis.  They did it with the Anubis God AI, breaking the containment protocols and setting it loose on everything.  Overwatch tried to stop it, but even with the Egyptian Army they weren’t enough.  They lost the battle, the AI spread, and Jesse got hurt.  Badly.

“Jesse never did a mission under the influence, he knew better, but he was never quite on his game and it showed.”  Hana says.  “There was a grenade.  We never found out if it was from an infected omnic or a human soldier, but it really didn’t matter.  It still exploded right next to him and while his armor took the brunt of the damage and kept him from dying instantly, it didn’t protect his face or the fact that the force slammed him into a wall.”

Hanzo swallows down the lump in his throat.  “How- how bad was he hurt?”

“Pretty badly.  Angela was able to fix most of it, except for his leg and his eye.  It was enough to keep him out of combat permanently.”

“He’s almost lucky, the Second Crisis was worse than the first one,” Fareeha says, taking the lead again.  “Battles broke out across the world, but the worst were in Russia, Great Britain, and the United States.  And thanks to our actions in Egypt the UN found out about us.  Luckily, Winston and Lena made a very good case for us and the UN decided we would be more help fighting than behind bars.  It took seven years for us to end the war.”

She goes on to tell Hanzo about how afterwards the UN repealed the PETRAS Act and reinstituted Overwatch as an official organization as thanks for helping end the crisis.  Winston was tired of being commander by that point and Morrison was technically still legally dead, so Fareeha was recommended for Strike Commander, a position she gladly accepted.  She made Lena and Hana her Commanders and they rebuilt Overwatch.

Not everyone stayed though.  Satya and Sombra, now a couple to some people’s surprise, left and created Symmetry Design and Technologies, an ethical and overall better replacement for the void Vishkar left.  Ana finally retired for real with Reinhardt, who had gotten injured about half way through the war, and they finally got married.  Jack and Gabe reconciled but ultimately went their own ways; too many years of fighting and distrust to simply forget.  Jack went off the grid, though a vigilante named Soldier:76 occasionally pops up here and there.  Gabe spent a couple years with Jesse, reconciling and helping him get by, before returning to Overwatch to help consult behind the scenes because there weren’t many places for a half man-half wraith to go.  Genji also never got over Hanzo’s disappearance and left with Zenyatta to travel the world and try and find peace again.  Nobody knows exactly where they are most of the time.

Fareeha reclines in her chair and looks off into the distance.  “We spent the past ten years rebuilding and working towards becoming the global peace organization the first Overwatch should have been.  We opened more Ecopoints, helped countries rebuild, and worked with the UN to prevent all of this from collapsing again.  A little more oversight, absolutely no Blackwatch, and more transparency overall.”

Hanzo is quiet for a long while, absorbing all this new information.  To say it’s a lot would be an understatement.  His mind reels and he slumps in his seat.  He would really like a bottle of sake right now.

“You okay there,  _ Mokeunaipeo _ ?” Hana asks.

Hanzo startles at the old nickname.  “Yes… Yes.  I will be fine.”  Hana doesn’t look like she’s convinced.

“I know this is a lot to take in but don’t worry, we will get you home,” says Fareeha.

“Home?”

“Well, your correct place in time.  You skipped twenty years due to an accident that should have never happened.  Our scientists learned quite a bit, looking for you so hopefully it shouldn’t be too hard to reverse that accident and fix everything.”

Hanzo looks incredulous.  “Really?”

“No guarantees, but we can at least try.  Winston’s gotta come back from Horizon, Satya from India, and Lena is busy down in Numbani with Efi, making sure she gets her Nobel Prize safely but once they get here we’ll have them get started on a solution.  We won’t stop until we’ve done everything we can.”

Hana placed a hand on his shoulder.  “Until then, what do you need?” she asks.

What does he need?  He needs…  He needs…

Jesse.

“Where did Jesse go after he was injured?”

Fareeha hesitates for a second.  “The United States.  He bought a piece of land in California under an alias and built a house out there.  I guess it kept his mind occupied for a couple years until he really accepted that he was permanently out of the game.  It’s pretty remote, a little bit in the middle of nowhere, just enough to make it hard to find him and for everyone to leave him alone.  Not many people know the exact location.” 

Hanzo looks at her hard.  “But you do.  You know exactly where he is.”

“I- yes.  I have the coordinates for his house.  But Hanzo, I know what you’re thinking and I don’t think it would be the best idea.  He’s not the same.  These years have been incredibly hard on him and he won’t be your Jesse.”

“He will always be my Jesse.  For better or for worse he is the man I fell in love with and I need to see him.  I need to let him know that I am okay.  I need to fix my mistake.”

“Hanzo this isn’t your fault.”

“But I abandoned him.  I need to tell him I am sorry at the very least.  Please, Fareeha.”

Fareeha hesitates again, looking back and forth between Hanzo and her desk.

“Reeha,” Hana says softly.  “He needs this.  Both of them do.”

Fareeha looks at her second in command and has a short battle of wills before sighing in defeat.

“Okay.  Yea, okay.”  She grabs a notepad and writes down some numbers.  “Jesse trusted me with this, so I know I don’t need to tell you to keep that trust.”  Hanzo just nods as he reads the coordinates.  Fareeha hands him the slip of paper and he sees that she wrote down a set of coordinates.  “Hana will fly you out there and pick you up when we have a solution, hopefully.  We’ll give you a new communicator to keep in touch in the meantime.”

“That sounds reasonable.  How long until we are ready to depart?”

“You’ll be heading out first thing tomorrow morning.”

Hanzo’s head snaps up.  “But-”

“No.  Tomorrow morning.  Tonight you are going to go get a full medical checkup, a hot meal, then a full night’s rest and I don’t want any arguments about that.”

Hanzo shoots Fareeha a glare that she appears to have become immune to.  He needs to get to Jesse as soon as possible, but her body language says there is no room for argument with the strike commander.  He grumbles out a ‘fine’, knowing he shouldn’t push his luck. 

The three of them head out to the quartermaster to get Hanzo a new comm and credentials that will give him full access to the base.  Fareeha then leaves to go acquisition a plane for tomorrow while Hanzo follows Hana to the medbay.  She fills him in on other stuff that’s been happening in Overwatch and around the world while they walk.  Most of it is trivial and honestly, Hanzo missed most of it.  He’s too busy listening to the tone and cadence of her voice -which has mellowed out a bit over the years but still retains that sass and energy he remembers- and too worried about Jesse to really think about anything else.  He does zone back in long enough to hear about Zarya and Mei living in domestic bliss in Russia with four little kids.  Good for them.

Despite all the changes to the Watchpoint, the medbay looks like it hasn’t changed at all.  Hanzo suspects that the plastic chairs sitting in the waiting room outside are the same ones from twenty years ago.  He shutters at the thought.

Hana walks in without breaking stride and calls out, “Where’s my frog boy?”

“Hana?” a voice calls out from another room.  Lúcio pokes his head out from around a corner then runs towards her with a smile.  “Bun!  You’re back!”  He picks Hana up and twirls her around a few times before putting her back down and giving her a kiss.  “I thought you were going to be in New York for another week?”

“I was but there was an emergency that had to be dealt with here.”

“Emergency?  Is it serious?  Is everything okay?”

“You tell me.  Yo  _ Mokeunaipeo,  _ get in here and say hello.”

Hanzo finally walks in from the entrance he was loitering by while he looked around the medbay.  Lúcio’s eyes go wide and his smile goes even wider when he sees Hanzo.  The only warning Hanzo gets is Lúcio slightly shifting his weight, then he’s up in the air in a rib crushing hug.

“Hanzo!  Oh my god, Hanzo!”

Hanzo tries to return the hug, but his arms are pinned to his side and his toes are scraping the ground.  When Lúcio finally puts Hanzo down there’s tears in his eyes that he makes no attempt to wipe away.

“Hanzo, how?  When?  What?”

“It is… a long story.”

“One we’ll explain, while you give him a full medical checkup,” Hana says.

Lúcio turns back to Hanzo and throws his arms around his neck in another hug.

“Alright, alright,” Lúcio says when he composes himself.  “Come back here and let’s get started.”

 

* * *

“Lúcio is the head field medic these days.  He took over when Angela left to go become Minister of Medicine at Oasis University,” Hana tells Hanzo as they walk to his room for the night with a tray of food.  He didn’t feel like eating in a cafeteria full of strangers and everyone he does know has stuff to take care of before he flies out tomorrow.  So he decided to retire to his and Jesse’s old room for the night.

“How does he have time for his music if he is running the medbay?”

“He doesn’t run the medbay, just field operations.  He’s had to cut back on his music production, but he isn’t too heartbroken about it.  He doing a lot of good here and helping a lot of people and that’s what’s important to him.   But he still finds time to write when he has some free time.  He’s getting ready to start his eighth album soon.”

They eventually arrive in front of Hanzo’s and Jesse’s old room.  Hanzo goes to put in the code, but hesitates and lets his hand drop.

“Hana, why is this room still here?” he asks in a quiet voice.  She crosses her arms and looks down at the ground.

“I guess… because no one wanted to believe it was really true.  Hanzo Shimada, former oyabun, master archer, redeemed brother, disappearing right in front of our eyes.  Jesse McCree, Overwatch veteran, infamous outlaw with bounty the size of a small fortune, taken down by a shattered heart.”  She shifts her weight and crosses her arms.  “Everyone else we’ve lost have been due to something tangible; a bullet, a bomb, a rogue omnic, a terrorist organization.  But not you two.  It hurt so much and I guess… I don’t know.  We didn’t want to believe it.  We didn’t want to let you guys go.”

Hanzo stares at the name tag.  A shattered heart.  “I see.”

“Hanzo, don’t blame yourself, please.  Things will be better tomorrow, so please get some rest.” Hanzo nods and Hana gives him another hug.  “You know, you don’t have to be okay either.”

“I am fi-”

“No, you aren’t.  But that’s okay.  You have friends here to help you, and they will if you let them.  I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.” 

He takes a steadying breath and opens the door.  Sometime, during his talk with Fareeha and check up with Lúcio, someone came in and dusted the room and left a clean set of sheets on the bed.  They’re significantly more scratchy than his usual sheets and they smell like detergent, not like Jesse, but they’ll do.  He quickly eats his bland meal then goes about putting the sheets on the bed.  When he moves one of the pillows a piece of paper hiding under it flutters down to the ground.  Curious, Hanzo picks it up. 

He wishes he didn’t.  It’s a picture, from his last birthday.  Jesse is hugging him from behind, almost toppling him over, and planting a big kiss on his cheek.  Hanzo’s cheeks are red, probably from alcohol, and a wide smile splits his face.

They look so happy.

Hanzo shoves the picture into his bag of stuff that was also brought in earlier and wipes the tears from his eyes.  He quickly finishes making the bed and getting ready to go to sleep. 

_ It is not your fault.  _  He tells himself as he tries to fall asleep.   _ It will all be fixed tomorrow. _

He still doesn’t quite believe himself by the time he finally falls asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super early upload as an apology for last week!
> 
> Time to get to the other half of that hurt/comfort tag ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Hanzo wishes that he could say he woke up feeling rested.  He wishes that he could say that he was jumping for joy at the thought of seeing Jesse.  But he can’t.  He wakes up with a knot in his stomach and fear running through his veins like ice.

_ He’s not the same.  These years have been incredibly hard on him and he won’t be your Jesse. _

_ No.  Stop.  It’s Jesse.  It will always be Jesse. _

Hanzo pulls himself out of bed, furiously not thinking about how Jesse always coaxed him out with kisses and the promise of more at breakfast.  He does a quick change, freshens up in the bathroom, repacks his gear, and walks out of the room without a look back.

He meets Hana outside of the dining hall at 0600 sharp.  Together, they grab a quick breakfast then head over to the aircraft hangar.  A plane gets prepped for them and by 0700 they’re in the air.  Hanzo doesn’t even attempt sleeping on the plane this time; he knows that it won’t help even if he does manage to fall asleep.  Instead he pulls up current event articles on a tablet and starts catching up on the past twenty years.  He knows that Overwatch is doing their best to help him get back to the right time but if they end up not being able to do it, might as well get a head start on studying.

They make a quick stop in New York to refuel, then are back in the air on their way to Watchpoint Los Angeles.  By the time they get there it’s early afternoon and Hanzo’s already starting to feel the jet lag.  In LA he loads up in a hover car, says goodbye to Hana, punches in the coordinates Fareeha gave him, and starts driving north.  Once he’s out of the city he sets the autopilot and settles in for another restless nap.  He doesn’t want to be asleep on his feet when he finally sees Jesse.

The alarm on his comm wakes him up a couple hours later.  A quick check of the GPS tells him he’s about 30 minutes out.  Hanzo spends the rest of the ride fixing his ponytail, straightening his clothes, and trying to wipe the exhaustion off of his face.  He knows it’s kind of ridiculous, fixing up his appearance like this; Jesse would say he looks amazing even after slogging through muddy German forests for two days (his exact words were “radiant” after Hanzo did just that a couple months ago), but he needs to dispel this nervous energy somehow and a small part of him wants to look nice for Jesse’s first look at him in twenty years.

The GPS takes Hanzo onto smaller and smaller roads, until he’s driving on nothing more than two tire treads made of packed dirt.  The trees around the car are thick and seem endless, until they finally open up and he arrives at his destination.

It’s a one story, craftsman style house, painted an earthy red, with a shallow roof and a wide front porch, built next to large bluffs that drop straight down to the ocean.  As Hanzo pulls up he sees the remains of a garden in the front that’s full of dead plants, except for two bushes of blue hydrangeas, his favorite flower.  Hanzo loves the house; it’s a house he could easily imagine coming home to everyday. 

Hanzo parks the hover car and walks to the front door.  A closer look reveals cracks in the paint, and grime on the windows.  There are cobwebs on a porch swing set up to the right of the door.  A shame, it’s a nice looking swing.

He knocks softly on the door, then a little harder when no one answers.  Still nothing.  Maybe Jesse isn’t home?  Hanzo walks around to the far side of the house and finds a truck parked there.  So he is home, but why isn’t he coming to the door?  Hanzo continues walking around the house to the back.  He finds a few more hydrangea bushes and what looks like some dog toys.  He also spots a window cracked open.  It only takes a few moments of deliberation to decide to slide it open and hop through it. 

Hanzo lands in what he guesses is a living room.  It’s hard to tell with the limited light coming through the cracks of the curtains and the copious amounts of trash he sees.  He can’t even take one step without kicking a glass bottle into another one, making a cacophonous sound in the previous quiet.  Silence falls again, no one comes running to find out what that ruckus was.  Hanzo doesn’t know if that’s good or bad. 

He takes another step deeper into the house, carefully avoiding the bottles and other trash in the floor.  He turns to go walk into the kitchen, but freezes when he hears a dog growling right behind him.  Hanzo turns slowly and sees a large German Shepherd staring him down, hackles raised.  The growl morphs into two short but loud barks.  Hanzo doesn’t dare move a muscle.

“I’d listen to the dog if I were you.  Now, I have a gun an’ I ain’t afraid to use it.  Get off my property ‘fore I put you down.”

Hanzo’s eyes widen and his chest tightens.  He knows that voice, even if it is a rougher and a little deeper from abuse.  Hanzo fights to keep the tears back and the waiver out of his voice as he turns to the dark corner of the house where the voice came from.

“But you promised that you would always be there to pick me up whenever I am not strong enough to stand on my own.”  His voice still cracks on the last few words.

“Wha-?“ A figure steps out of the darkness and into the edge of the light from the open window.  “Hanzo?”

Hanzo can’t stop the tears this time, because there’s Jesse.  Jesse with far too many wrinkles and long, greasy, grey hair haphazardly pulled into a low ponytail.  Jesse with a glassed over right eye and a limp in his walk.  Jesse with an expression that morphs from confusion, to disbelief, to awestruck.  But it’s Jesse.

“Jes…”

Jesse stumbles forward, kicking garbage out of the way, and almost falls onto Hanzo.  He clutches Hanzo’s shirt with his metal hand and runs his other hand over Hanzo’s face like he can’t actually believe he’s real. 

“Darlin’, is that really you?”

“Yes, my love, it is me.  I found you.”

Jesse starts sobbing and pulls Hanzo into a rib crushing hug, hands clutching his clothes, his hair, his back.  Hanzo threads a hand into Jesse’s hair, ignoring how disgusting it is, and whispers in his ear ‘it is me, I am here’ like a mantra.  Their legs eventually give out and they fall to the floor in a mess of limbs.

An impatient bark startles both of them.  The German Shepherd is staring at them, unsure of what to make of Hanzo.

“It’s okay boy,” Jesse says.  “He’s a friend.”  He ruffles the dog’s ears and the dog inches forwards to sniff at Hanzo.  After passing inspection it barks happily and starts licking Hanzo’s outstretched hand.

Jesse turns back to Hanzo.  “Hanzo…” he whispers.  He drags his human hand up and cups Hanzo’s jaw.  The look in his eye is starved to say the least.  He tips forward and gently rests his forehead against Hanzo’s.  They breathe the same air and whisper names and pet names back and forth.

“Baby, where were you?”

Hanzo take it anymore, can’t wait any longer.  He takes Jesse’s face in his hands and places a feather light kiss on his lips, and another, and another.  “It is a long story.”

 

* * *

“-so Hana and I flew out to the LA Watchpoint and I drove up here and-,” Hanzo takes a deep breath.  “-and I found you.”

Hanzo and Jesse are now sitting next to each other at the kitchen table.  Their fingers are intertwined and their knees are knocking.  Jesse’s dog sits underneath his chair, seemingly asleep but ears perked up in attention.

“Goddamn.  God-fuckin’-damn.  I barely believe it.”

“I know it is hard to believe but Fareeha and Winston can confirm everything that happened and-“

“No, Han, I believe you, it’s just… I barely believe that I got a second chance to see you again.”

Hanzo stops and smiles, though it’s a little broken.  “I thought I had lost you, when I realized  _ when _ I was.  When I found out that you were no longer at Overwatch.”  His smile falls and he brings his hand up to cup Jesse’s face.  “What happened to you my love?”

Jesse sighs and turns into the hand, kissing the palm gently.  Tears gather on his lashes again but they don’t fall as he takes a moment to compose himself.

“I’d lost… so many people over the years.  And yea, some came back, but most didn’t an’ it hurt so goddamn much.  When you disappeared, right in front’a my eyes, that- that… It fuckin’ broke me.  I didn’t wanna live a life without’cha an’ it broke me.

“I looked for ya everywhere, couldn’t believe you were gone.  When I wasn’t busy doin’ that I was busy tryin’ to drink the pain away.  It never worked, and every day that passed I lost hope.  Didn’t take long ta stop carin’ if lived or died on the next mission.”

“Jesse…  I am so sorry.”

“No, honey,” Jesse gathers both of Hanzo’s hands in his own.  “It ain’t your fault, and I never blamed ya, not once.  It’s all my fault that I stopped carin’ ‘bout everything.  It’s my fault that I didn’t see that grenade ‘til it was too late.”

Hanzo tries to believe him, he really does.  He swallows down the lump in his throat and clears it.  “The grenade… Fareeha said you were injured very seriously.  What- how bad?”

“From the grenade itself, shrapnel tore through my arm, torso, neck, and face.”  He gestures up to his eye.  “All but destroyed my right eye.  Can’t really see anythin’ out’a it which threw off my aim and depth perception and shit.  The damage from being slammed into a wall, shattered my knee, broke my femur and forearm.  Angie healed my arm up right quick but leg was little harder.  Femur will never be as strong as it was before and with how destroyed my knee was… Angie could only do so much.”

“How did you continue to do missions after that?”

“I couldn’t.  Can’t run, can barely walk.  Liver was already shot an’ my lungs were followin’ right along.  They never officially told me I was permanently benched but I figured it out on my own.  I packed up and left shortly after that.  Came out here an’, well, ya can figure out the rest.”

Yes Hanzo can, the garbage and bottles (that he can now see are liquor bottles) tell an unhappy story.  The only light in this dark life that Hanzo can see is the dog, which has risen from his spot to lay his head on Jesse’s thigh and comfort his master.

“That is a beautiful dog.  I can see he loves you very much,” Hanzo says as he reaches over to pet it’s head. 

“Thanks.  Yea, Hanners here has been through a lot with me and-“

A beat of silence.

“Did- did you name your dog after me?”

“Listen…”

Hanzo tries to stifle his laugh.  “I am listening.”

“The dog wasn’t even my idea, Gabe just showed up with him and dropped him in my arms.”

“And you could not say no.”

“I couldn’t!  You know ya can’t say no to a puppy face like that!  ...An’ I was missing ya bad, the name was kinda an accident but… honestly I never found the energy to fix it.  So it kinda, just, stuck…”

Hanzo laughs out loud at how sheepish Jesse looks, it’s still very adorable.

“Sorry, sorry, that is just very adorable.  I am very honored to share a name with your dog.”

Jesse smiles too and laughs too.  It starts small, almost like he couldn’t remember how to, but quickly grows until they are both filling the house with laughter and tears are forming in their eyes.

It stops when Jesse is suddenly wracked with coughs, deep wet ones that send Hanzo into panic mode.

“Jes, are you okay?  How can I help?”

“Water,” Jesse croaks out.  “Plastic cup.  Cabinet next to microwave.”

Hanzo runs to the kitchen and fills a cup from the tap.  Jesse drinks it slowly and gradually gets his breath under control.

“Told ya my lungs were shit.”

“Are you okay, my love?”

“I will be.  I will be.  Are you okay?”

“What?”

“Are you okay?  I’ve jus’ spent the last how many hours listenin’ ta yer story then rambling on ‘bout what happened to me and how I’ve not been copin’ with everythin’ an’ I haven’t asked once how yer doin’.”

“I am fine.”

Jesse gives him a look that lets him know he doesn’t believe that for one second.

“I am- I am-” Hanzo collapses on the chair and lets his head hang low.  “I am not fine.  I still do not fully understand what happened, or truly accept it.  Everything has changed, I don’t know if I will be able to get back to my original time, you are irreparably hurt, and I still do not know where my brother is.” Hanzo says all of this is one rushed breath.

Jesse immediately pulls Hanzo out of his seat and into his lap, wrapping his arms around him securely (though the metal one is a little more loose) and gently placing soft kisses on his temple.  “Hey, hey, it’s alright.  We’re gonna get through this.  I promise.”

“How?” Hanzo asks in a low voice.

“Well fer one, don’t worry ‘bout me, what’s done is done.  Two, I’m sure Reeha and the rest of them are doin’ everythin’ they can to help ya get where ya need to go.  If they can’t, then we’ll figure out what to do when that time comes.  Lastly, I know what’s up with yer brother, kinda.”

Hanzo perks up.  “Wait, you know where Genji is?”

“Not exactly, but I know where he’s been.  He was here a month an’ a half ago, on the, uhh, anniversary.  We meet up every year.  The day is hard on us both and we realized pretty early on that it’s easier to spend it together rather than alone in a bar somewhere.”

Hanzo breathes out a sigh of relief, at least he’s alive.  “Does anyone know where he is?”

“Nah, him and Zenny are out doin’ what they did ‘fore the Recall.  Travellin’ the world, tryin’ to find enlightenment an’ all that.  They move too fast and under the radar to really keep up with them twenty-four-seven.”

Hmm, Hanzo would have loved to see Genji again.  At least he knows he’s alive.

“I do have the number ta his emergency comm though.  We could call it an’ see if he picks it up?”

“Yes, please,” Hanzo says quickly.  That’s even better and he feels another weight lift off his shoulders.

Hanzo’s stomach suddenly growls and he remembers that the last time he ate was breakfast this morning; he was more concerned with finding Jesse than finding lunch. 

“Oh, I’ve been a terrible host.  Let’s get ya somethin’ to eat an’ find that comm later.”

They slowly make their way to the kitchen.  Jesse’s limp slows him down some but he turns down any help; he can manage.  The kitchen looks like the cleanest room in the house so far, though that’s very relative.  In the fridge they find expired produce and random odds and ends, basically nothing to make a normal meal with.

“Sorry,” Jesse mumbles.  “Didn’t really have the energy to go out this week.  Or last...”

“It is all right, we will figure something out.”

They end up scrounging up some pasta, rice, frozen vegetables and other things to make a passable meal.  They clear the dining table of trash and set the table like for a traditional meal.  Hanzo doesn’t question why Jesse pulls out a ceramic plate for him, and a plastic plate for himself.  

He feels out of sync with Jesse.  That flow they had before that allowed them to work so well together in the field and eventually drew them together is gone.  They make small talk, it’s just a little awkward, and they both try to subtly feed scraps to Hanners.    

It’s better by the end of dinner, not perfect, but better.  The rhythm is still slightly off beat but with everything that’s happened, Hanzo isn’t surprised, and he’s not complaining.  He grabs his plate and drops it in the kitchen sink when he hears the yell.  Hanzo runs back to the dining room and finds Jesse doubled over, plate on the floor being licked clean by Hanners, cup crushed in the tight fist of his prosthetic hand.

“Jesse?”  Hanzo approaches slowly, not wanting to startle him.

“Stupid, fuckin’ piece o’ shit arm,” he mumbles.

“Jesse?”

“I’m okay, jus’ give me a sec.”

Jesse straightens up with a grimace on his face, hand still clutched tight around the mangled cup.  He slams the palm of his other hand on the metal forearm a couple times then none to gently pries open each finger individually, eventually letting the cup fall to the ground.  A twist of the wrist, a spasm of the hand, and the prosthetic seems to go back to normal.  Jesse’s face relaxes and he flexes his arm a couple times before meeting Hanzo’s worried gaze.

“How long has that been going on?”

“This particular hiccup?  Ehh, a couple years or something.  It’s fine, I know how to handle it.”

Well that explains the plastic dishes.  Much easier to clean up that than shattered ceramic.

“That does not comfort me, Jesse.  When was the last time you had a checkup?”

Jesse hesitates before answering.  “The last time Torb checked it out.  Right ‘fore I left.”

“Jesse-”

“Don’t- Please don’t give me that look.  It’s hard enough to do one handed with good eyesight an’ I don’t trust any mechanic ‘round here to look at it.”

Hanzo wrestles his emotions under control.  Jesse doesn’t need anyone yelling at him about not taking care of himself and he would hate it even more if Hanzo started pitying him.

“Where is your toolbox?” Hanzo asks in a steady voice.

“What?”

“Your toolbox, for maintenance.”

“”Oh, uhhh, hallway closet on yer way to the bedroom.  I think.”

“Go get comfortable on the couch, please.  I will be there in a second.”

Jesse shuffles over to the living room while Hanzo goes searching for his tools.  He does eventually find it in the closet, under piles and piles of junk.  Back in the living room, Jesse had pulled over the coffee table and now has his arm extended across is as he lies on the couch with Hanners at his feet.  Hanzo gets to work, removing the protective plates to expose the thin wires and sensitive circuits.  It’s obvious that it’s been far too long since Jesse’s last check up, there’s small pockets of rust forming all throughout the circuitry, some of the wires are loose, a couple look like they may be shorted out.  Hanzo’s going to have his work cut out for him.

“Remember the first time ya did this for me?” Jesse asks, breaking the tense silence.

“It was in that sorry excuse for a safe house in Argentina, correct?”

“It was pretty shitty, yea.  How many times did ya shock me that night?”

“You do not get to complain about that.  If you had not lost so much blood you would have been able to do that yourself.”

“Ah yea, that’s right.”  Jesse smiles wistfully.

“At least I have become much better since then.   Unless you move around too much I should not hurt you.  Probably.”

Jesse chuckles.  “Well, getting hurt by you isn’t the worst thing in the world.”

It takes Hanzo all night to fix up Jesse’s prosthetic.  He scrubs away the rust and replaces the wires that are loose.  He still manages to shock Jesse a few times but honestly it was expected with how much damage there was.  When he finishes screwing the last outer plate Jesse sits up and tests his arm with a surprised look.

“Damn, it hasn’t moved this smooth in years.”

“I am glad.”  Hanzo stretches his back and lets out a jaw breaking yawn.  That exhausted him, and on top of the lingering jetlag meant he is ready to tip sideways and fall asleep.  Jesse takes one look at him and tells him to get ready for bed, they can talk more in the morning.  Hanzo grabs his bag that he left in the car and cleans up in the bathroom.  When he walks back out he finds Jesse laying out some pillows and blankets on the couch, Hanners sniffing them curiously.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, uhh, I was gonna give ya the bed an’ sleep out here.”

“Why would you do that?” Hanzo asks honestly.

“I, uhh, wasn’t sure if ya, uhh, wanted to- ya know.  I didn’t wanna make ya uncomfortable and-”

“Jesse,” Hanzo interrupts.  He holds out a hand.  “Come to bed.”

Jesse hesitates.  One second.  Two seconds.

He relents.

The tension in his shoulders disappears and he slumps.  “Yea… okay…”

He takes Hanzo’s hand and lets him guide him into the bedroom. Hanners follows behind them and settles into a dog bed at the foot of the bed.

“Jesse.” Hanzo stops him before they can climb into bed and cups his face.  “I love you.”

“I love ya too, sweetie.”  Jesse tries to step away but Hanzo holds him still.

“ _ I love you _ ,” he stresses.  Hanzo was never the best with words.  He can’t wax poetics like Jesse can.  He hopes Jesse understands that this is the closest he can get to explaining that he doesn’t care that Jesse is older and slightly broken.  He loves him.

Jesse must understand something, because a light turns on behind his eye.  Lost for words, he just nods.

Hanzo finally lets him go and they climb under the sheets together.  They waste no time fitting together like a weird puzzle piece, wrapping arms and legs together until you can’t tell where one person ends and the other starts.

They don’t care.  For the first time in two long days, for the first time in twenty longer years, they are falling asleep in each other’s arms.


	5. Chapter 5

Hanzo wakes up stiflingly overheated and with Jesse somehow wrapped around his back even more like an oversized octopus.  It’s hot and uncomfortable, but Hanzo doesn’t dare move a muscle.  He feels rested.  He’s finally back where he belongs and it feels better than how he expected.  He forgot how much of a comfort Jesse’s strong arms are, wrapped securely around his waist like this.  It’s hard to worry about anything with Jesse right here next to him like this.

Carefully, Hanzo shifts and turns over to face Jesse.  He can’t help but smile when he sees Jesse’s sleep relaxed face.  The wrinkles are smoothed out and not as harsh.   He looks ten years younger with the way his lips are slightly pouted like that.  Hanzo now also picks up on the other small differences he missed last night, like the sprinkle of small scars around Jesse’s right eye and how his beard is somehow even wilder than he thought possible.  With a gentle hand, Hanzo traces the lines in his face, mapping it out and re-learning it.

The light touches still manage to wake Jesse up.  With a snort and a twitch of his nose, his eyes open and immediately lock onto Hanzo.  His eyes widen and his mouth opens with a silent gasp.

“I am here, my love,” Hanzo whispers quietly, just loud enough for Jesse to hear and understand.

“I- goddamn,” Jesse breathes out in a deep, sleep laden voice.  He buries his head in Hanzo’s neck and tightens his grip again.  “I thought it was all a dream.”

Hanzo chuckles and moves his hand to run through Jesse’s hair.  He only grimaces slightly at the grease he forgot about and decides that a long shower is in order for both of them.

“Yer really here…”

They stay in bed until a heavy weight lands on top of both of them.  Hanzo is suddenly assaulted by a wet tongue belonging to an overexcited dog.

“I’m gettin’, I’m gettin’,” Jesse pushes Hanners off of them and sits up.  “I should go feed him ‘fore he gets too antsy.”

“You do that and I will start the shower.”

Jesse’s back pops and cracks as he heaves himself out of bed and shuffles out of the bedroom with Hanners right on his tail.  Hanzo lies in bed for a couple more seconds before getting up himself and finding the bathroom.  He starts fighting with the shower and nearly has it figured out by the time Jesse ambles in. 

Underneath the hot spray of water, Hanzo attacks Jesse’s hair with ruthless efficiency.  In his hands the strands of silver, gray, brown, and red comes back to life.  Jesse stands there head hung low for Hanzo to reach and hands on his hips, just resting there for contact and reassurance.  Reassurance that frankly both of them need.

 

* * *

Later, Hanzo stands in front of the stove top pushing around some scrambled eggs while Jesse sits at the dining table writing out a grocery list.  They’re going to go out and restock either later today or tomorrow, depending on how much energy Jesse has.  But for now, Hanzo focuses on making breakfast while occasionally turning his head to breathe in the smell of the flannel he’s wearing. 

A sudden thought makes him pause and turn around to look at Jesse.

“Why?”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you come here?  Build a house here?  Why did you not go back to Santa Fe or stay in Europe close to Overwatch?”

Jesse stares at him like the answer is the most obvious thing in the world.  “ ’Cause this is our home.  Or at least it was supposed to be.”

Whatever answer Hanzo was expecting, it wasn’t that.  Jesse waves him over to sit down with him.  Hanzo turns off the heat under the eggs and joins him.

“ ‘Fore that last mission, do ya remember what we talked about on the carrier?”

“You wanted to go out on a date, dinner and a walk.”

“Not just any date.  I was gonna take ya out, wine an’ dine ya, then-- then ask ya to marry me.”

“What?” Hanzo croaks out, voice filled with emotion.

Jesse pulls out a chain from around his neck.  Hanzo saw him take it off earlier before the shower and put it back on afterwards, but he didn’t see the ring hanging off of it.  It’s made out of dark silver metal, with a line of lapis inlaid into it, on the inside the kanji for ‘I will never let you fall’ is engraved. Tears prickle Hanzo’s eyes as he takes it and stares at it.

“I had it all planned out.  Was gonna walk ya along the cliff sides, do a lil’ bit of reminiscin’, then when we got to that beautiful gazebo with all the flowers wrapping around it I was gonna get down on one knee an’ pour my heart out to ya.”

Hanzo is angry.  Not at Jesse, never at Jesse, but at this unfair universe.  He had spent years trying to redeem himself and become a better person.  Gave everything he had to make this world just a little safer, and better and never asked for anything in return.  And just when he was about to get a little bit of happiness and contentment, the universe had to rip the rug out from under him and pull this cruel stunt. 

“That still does not explain this house,” Hanzo says, willing his voice not to crack.

“This is where we were supposed ta retire to.  I bought the land the day after I bought the ring.  It was gonna be a dream come true, designin’ the perfect house with ya, movin’ in when we decided we’ve had enough bullets shot at us, maybe adoptin’ a few dogs an’ seein’ where life took us.  God Hanzo, I couldn’t wait ta ask ya to do all’a this with me.”

Hanzo takes a few deep breaths to get his emotions under control.  Jesse’s right, that does sound like a dream come true.

“You bought this land for us, before I even said yes,” he whispers. 

“That’s ‘cuz I knew you were gonna say yes.  Was I wrong?”

Hanzo finally looks up at Jesse, ring grasped tightly in his hand, vision blurry with the beginning of tears.

“No, never.”

 

* * *

The ring ends up hanging off of Hanzo’s neck.

 

* * *

They don’t make it to the grocery store until the next day, but they make it work.  The three of them pile into the truck and take a trip down to the small town 40 minutes away.  It takes almost all day, between Jesse having to take occasional breaks due to his knee or his lungs and having to chase Hanners down more than once, but neither of them mind.  It gives them time for Jesse to tell Hanzo about the area and what’s been going on in the past couple years, and it gives Hanzo time to learn Jesse’s mannerisms anew, to learn how to move with him like they did so easily before.

The day after that they start cleaning the house.  One room at a time, not moving on until all the garbage has been thrown away and the rest of the clutter has been cleaned up and put away.  The gardens are cleared of the dead plants and new seeds and sprouts are planted.  It takes them almost a whole week but by the end Hanzo can see the original potential of the house, how it really was designed for just the two of them.  From the dark colors of the hardwood floors that remind Hanzo of Shimada Castle, to the solid oak furniture that was obviously inspired by Jesse’s home in Santa Fe.  

But it’s also obvious that Hanzo wasn’t here to help design it.  Just small hints here and there, like how the living room was painted blue, a shade close to his favorite color, but not exactly.  Or how to countertops are just a touch too high to be comfortable.

They eventually find the comm that connects with Genji’s.  That minute of ringing, waiting for Genji to pick up, felt like hours.  When he finally does pick up, both brothers spend the first few minutes crying and smiling.  Neither really know what to say until Genji makes a quip about being the older brother now, and god, how obvious that is.  His scars have been smoothed over with age and warped with wrinkles.   Zenyatta is there also looking a little worse for wear.  Both of them have more scratches and dings on their armor than Hanzo’s remembers.  

They end up talking for hours, about the trouble Genji and Zenyatta can’t seem to get away from, about how Hanzo’s been coping.  Jesse leaves at some point to give them some privacy which Hanzo is grateful for because he is barely holding onto his composure and doesn’t want Jesse to worry.  

He missed another twenty years of Genji’s life.  The first ten he deserved, punishment for his inexcusable actions.  After they reconciled, Hanzo promised that he would always be there for Genji; he would never abandon him like that again.  But here he sits, twenty years later, with another broken promise.

When they finally hang up the comm, Jesse, beautifully insightful Jesse, takes one look at Hanzo and sees right through his mask.  He pulls him in close and whispers in his ear “It ain’t yer fault” over and over again.

Hanzo becomes closer to Hanners over the weeks and the dog goes from tolerating him to adoring him.  He laughs and gloats just a little when Hanners starts sitting with him on the couch instead of Jesse.  The name fiasco still amuses him to no end and he is never going to let Jesse live it down.    

Without realizing it, Hanzo and Jesse have fallen back in step with each other and back into an easy routine.  A routine that Hanzo feels like he’s been doing for years instead of a few weeks.

It’s amazing how one short phone call had the power to disrupt that.

_ “Hanzo, we’ve figured it out!” _ Fareeha says on the other end of the comm.   _ “Satya and Winston are confident that they can send you back to the exact moment you disappeared.  Hana is already on her way back to Watchpoint L.A. and we need you to meet her there tomorrow.  You’ll get a message later with more details.” _

Hanzo was outside with Hanners when he got the call.  Jesse was inside making dinner for them.  He immediately knows something happened when Hanzo walks back in. 

“Pumpkin?  What’s wrong?”

Hanzo’s mouth opens and closes a few times as he tries to formulate the right words.

“Fareeha… She—They—They found a way back.  For me, to go back.”  Why was that so hard?

“Oh baby that’s great news!” Jesse holds no such reservations.  He wraps Hanzo up in a tight hug and would probably start spinning him around if there wasn’t a very excited dog running around right underneath them.

“I—yes, it is…”

Something feels wrong.  Hanzo doesn’t know what, can’t even speak up and say so.  He should be ecstatic; he should be jumping at the opportunity to fix this whole mistake.  Instead he lets Jesse smile and hold him tight. 

“I taught Hanners a new command today,” Hanzo says, effectively changing the conversation.  Jesse puts him down and gives him an odd look, thrown by the sudden change in topic, but goes along with it.

“Oh really?  Why don’tcha show me while I finish cooking here.”

 

* * *

Dinner is tense.  Hanzo is obviously distracted and bothered, but he avoids talking about it any time Jesse tries to bring it up.  It isn’t until later when they’re lying in bed, Jesse asleep and Hanzo staring up at the ceiling, does he finally realize what’s wrong.

He doesn’t want to leave.

He doesn’t want to give up this house.

He doesn’t want to abandon Jesse again to fall into destructive habits. 

Hanzo looks over to Jesse who’s wrapped around his waist.  He can’t hurt Jesse again, can’t force him back into solitude again.  By the time sunlight streams through the cracks in the curtains, Hanzo’s made his decision.

 

* * *

Jesse wakes up with a grumble and buries his face into Hanzo’s chest.

“Neetgechyepckedup,” he mumbles.

“What was that?”

Jesse turns his head up and clears his throat.  “Need ta get ya packed up.  Gotta leave by eleven if ya wanna get there on time.”

Hanzo slows down the random patterns he was tracing on Jesse’s back.  “…No.”

Jesse sits up, sleep clearing from his eyes and a confused expression on his face.

“Whaddya mean ‘no’?”

“It means I am not leaving,” he says with a smile.  He gets up and pulls a t-shirt on.  “Go let Hanners out, I will get breakfast started.”

Hanzo doesn’t wait to see if Jesse does as told.  He walks into the kitchen and starts pulling out stuff for breakfast.  Pancakes sound good this morning. 

“Whaddya mean ya ain’t leavin’?”  Jesse did not do as told.  He walks into the kitchen with Hanners right on his heels.

“I means exactly that, Jesse.” Hanzo is getting annoyed, why is he not happy about this?

“Hanzo, you-”

“Why are you so insistent on me leaving?  Why are you not happy that I am staying with you?” Hanzo stalks over to Jesse and stares down the shocked man with a steely glare.

“Because Han, this ain’t how it’s supposed ta be,” Jesse says softly.

“Now how it is supposed to be?  We finally found each other again, we are finally happy again, and you say this is not right!?”  Hanzo’s voice rises with every word as his annoyance turns to anger and he paces around the room.  He forgot how hot his temper burned, and how quickly it ignited.  The years with Jesse and with Overwatch had soothed and calmed him.

“Hanzo listen-”

“Do you want to return to how you were before I came back?  Hollow and miserable and alone!  Is this life with me not- not good enough?” Hanzo’s voice finally cracks as red hot tears of anger fall and turn into tears of hurt.

“It’s perfect!” Jesse finally yells.  “Everythin’ ‘bout these past couple weeks have been perfect, a damn dream come true!”

“Then why, my love,” Hanzo chokes out in barely a whisper.  “My Jesse…”

“Oh honey.” Jesse walks over as quickly as possible and cups Hanzo’s trembling jaw to press their foreheads together.  “Don’tcha see?  This dream, this perfect life, it ain’t fer me.  It ain’t mine to live”

Hanzo jerks back to protest but Jesse shushes him and presses a kiss to his forehead.

“You are my Hanzo, you will always be my Hanzo.  But I ain’t yer Jesse.  Yer Jesse is still diggin’ through piles of rubble, screamin’ his voice hoarse callin’ yer name, an’ has a very important question he needs ta ask ya.  I don’t want’cha ta leave, but I know ya have to.”

Tears run down both of their cheeks as their hearts break.  Deep down, Hanzo knows Jesse’s right, but he doesn’t want to accept it.  He doesn’t want to leave, even though his resolve is wavering.

“But what if it does not work?  What if Satya and Winston made a mistake and I do not return to the correct time?”

“Have ya ever known those two ta make a mistake?  If they say it works, it’ll work.”

“And what about you?”

“I’ll be fine, promise.  This-“ Jesse gestures to himself.  “This only happened ‘cuz you were missin’.  If ya go back and never go missin’ in the first place, I’ll never be alone.”

“I just—I—”

“Han…” Jesse looks down at Hanzo with such a soft, but steady look, that he’s startled speechless. 

Then Jesse has to go and place the softest kiss on his lips.

When he finally pulls away, the last of Hanzo’s resolve breaks into a million pieces, and he slumps against Jesse’s chest.

“I understand,” he whispers so quietly he’s not sure Jesse hears.  “I understand.”

 

* * *

They pack in mumbled words and silence.  Jesse tries to keep a happy face, just to make Hanzo feel a little better, and it kinda works, for a while.  Jesse folds clothes that had made their way into the closet and dresser while Hanzo grabs his toothbrush from the bathroom, his tablet from the living room, and other things around the house.  Hanners lies on the bed, paws tucked under his head, ears drooped down.  Even he’s not immune to the heavy atmosphere in the house.

All too soon they’re standing beside the hover car Hanzo first arrived in.  They fidget and shift awkwardly, not wanting or knowing how to say goodbye.

“Hanzo I-“

“Jesse-“

They say at the same time.  Hanzo motions for Jesse to go first.

“Baby I love ya, an’ I’m gonna see ya again real soon, I promise.  Heaven an’ hell couldn’t keep me from ya Hanzo Shimada.”

“I know.  I—” Hanzo feels his voice choke up.  “Iloveyouaswell,” he says in one breath as he rushes forward and wraps his arms around Jesse in a fierce grip.  Jesse doesn’t hesitate to return the hug and pull Hanzo in as tight as possible.  For a moment the whole world stops around them as Hanzo commits this feeling to memory, just in case.

“It’s time to go, sweetheart,” Jesse whispers.

Hanzo pulls back just enough to give Jesse one last deep kiss.  He needs to remember this too. 

Hanners whines and paws at Hanzo’s hip.  Hanzo crouches down and scratches him behind the ears.  “I will see you again as well.”  A quick kiss on the head then Hanzo stands up again.  Finally Hanzo removes the chain from around his neck.  Probably shouldn’t take this back with him, could cause all sorts of problems.  He sets the ring down in Jesse’s hand and lets the chain pool down on top of it.  

_ You will see it again, and next time you will wear it properly. _

Jesse takes a step back with Hanners and nods.  

_ You can do this. _

Hanzo climbs in the car and starts it up.  He allows himself one last look at the house, then at Jesse, before his eyes start welling up.

He doesn’t dare look back as he drives away.  He’s not sure he would be able to see anything anyways through the tears.

* * *

 

 

Hanzo arrives at Watchpoint LA with dry, but puffy eyes.  When Hana sees him she sighs like she knew something like this might happen.

“I’m sorry,” she says.

“It is fine.  Let’s go.”

The flight back to Gibraltar drags on terribly long.  His heart skitters and his stomach drops as he flies farther and farther away from California.  He almost feels sick by the time they land at Overwatch headquarters, but the sight of Satya and Winston standing next to Fareeha makes him smile, just a little.  Winston looks exactly the same, except maybe some thicker glasses.  Satya looks even more sophisticated and regal than she did in the past.  Hanzo didn’t even know that was possible but here she is, with her hair cut short to right above shoulder length and the only wrinkles on her face from laugh lines.

“Hanzo, I cannot express how good it is to see you again,” she says as she hugs him.  She doesn’t hesitate or pull away as soon as is socially acceptable.  That’s new and Hanzo can’t help but wonder if Sombra had something to do with that, not that he is complaining.

“I have missed you too.”

“I realize you might like to talk but we should correct this mistake as soon as possible.”

“Yes, we have no idea how your continued stay here might affect the timeline,” Winston cuts in.  “Better safe than sorry.”

“Winston, it is good to see you as well.”

“Oh, uhh, yes.  I’m glad to see you aren’t dead, Agent Shimada.”

Hanzo chuckles at Winston’s awkward speech.  It’s good to know that some things don’t change.

The group travels to the labs, where they find Lena waiting for them next to a strange machine that looks like a strange combination of a chronal accelerator and one of Satya’s teleporters.  When Lena sees them she wastes no time jumping up and blinking over to Hanzo.

“Oh, Hanzo, love, it’s so good to see ya!”  She wraps him in a hug and practically vibrates with energy.  When she pulls back though, she sobers up.  “I’m so sorry about what happened though, none of this would have happened if I wasn’t such a dunce.”

“Lena, it is not your fault, and I never blamed you.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it was an accident, and I do not regret saving your life.”

“Aw you have no idea what that means to me, thank you.”  They hug one more time, until Satya clears her throat.

“Hanzo, if you are ready.” 

She walks over to the machine and switches it on with a flick of her wrist.  It slowly comes to life with a low hum, pieces unfolding and lights illuminating as the power builds.  Finally a bright blue, almost white, portal blinks into existence.  It’s edges waver and fizzle until they finally settle down and reach a steady state.  Hanzo looks at it nervously, his anxiety and fears coming back in full force.

“Are you sure it will work?”

“We are working with new technology so we cannot be completely sure,” Satya says with brutal honesty.  “But we have run every test we could imagine and we are fairly certain it will.  If I did not believe in my work I would not attempt this.”

“…Alright.”

Hanzo walks up to the portal, but hesitates two feet away from it.  Deep breath, don’t look back, it has to work.

Hanzo steps through into the unknown.

 

* * *

**20 years earlier**

 

“Hanzo!  Hanzo!” Jesse can feel his voice grow scratchy under the abuse, but he can’t stop, not until he finds Hanzo. 

When he and Tracer had just—disappeared—in that explosion of light, Jesse couldn’t believe what he saw.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t think on what happened for long.  Talon decided to cut their losses and blow up the whole damn compound.  The team barely made it out in time.  

When the dust started to settle, Jesse didn’t think, he just acted.  Hanzo and Tracer couldn’t just be gone, which means they were buried somewhere under there.  He ran for the rubble and started digging, and yelling, and panicking.  The rest of the team quickly joined him in the search using all the technology and strength they had on hand to find their missing teammates. 

The minutes ticked by and turned into hours.  The likelihood of finding anyone alive shrank.  Some of the team accepted this fact easier than others.  Mercy was the first one to quit surprisingly, too many memories of digging through other piles of rubble looking for Overwatch agents who were never there in the first place.  Symmetra was next, too realistic and factually oriented to continue with the hopeless search.  Then Pharah.  Then Reinhardt.  Even Zenyatta pulled Genji away, though he screamed and fought the entire time.  One by one they stopped, until only Jesse was left.

“HANZO!” He has to be here.  He can’t be gone.  Jesse’s breaths get shorter, quicker, but he wills himself to hold on to his sanity a little longer.

“Jesse.” Pharah says as she walks over and placing a hand on his shoulder.  He jerks out of the grip and moves on to another spot.  This has to be close to where he last saw them.  “Jesse, stop.”

“No!” he snarls. 

“Jesse, they’re gone!”

“No they ain’t!  They’re here somewhere!  Y’all jus’ need ta keep diggin’!  TRACER!  HANZO!”

Pharah marches up to him and spins him around by the shoulders until their eyes are locked.  “He’s gone, Jesse!  I’m sorry, but he’s gone.”

The shaking start in his metal hand of all places.  It spreads to his shoulders, his other arm, then his legs, which is when he collapses to his knees.  He claps both hands over his mouth to keep back the sobs, but nothing stops the tears.  Pharah crouches down and pulls her brother’s head to her shoulder.  She remembers how hard it was to lose a member of her unit.  She can’t imagine how much worse this is.

Suddenly a deep boom sounds out across the waste.  A portal flickers into existence at the top of one of the larger piles of rubble.

“Symmetra, did you set up a teleporter?” Pharah asks into the comm.

_ “No, my shield generator was the last thing I created.” _

“What the…” Jesse whispers.

A flash of light, then a figure falls through the portal and tumbles down the slope.  The figure stops at the bottom, the portal winks out of existence, and silence falls again.  The figure groans, and shifts, and a familiar face comes into view.  

Hanzo.

Jesse rockets up and is running as fast as he can before the others fully realize what is happening. 

“Hanzo!”

Hanzo sits up and spins around until he sees Jesse.  Relief floods his face and he makes it to his knees before Jesse crashes into him.  He breathes a sigh of relief when he gets a good look at Jesse’s face.  His skin is smooth and two brilliant brown eyes look at him with utter relief and adoration.  The only grey in his hair is a touch at the temples that has been there for a couple months now.  This is his Jesse.

“Hanzo yer alive!  Yer okay!  Oh baby I thought—Han—I—"

Jesse gives up on coherent sentences and instead wraps Hanzo up into a tight hug, one arm around his waist, the other on the back of his head.  He buries his face into his shoulder and starts sobbing.

“Jesse.”  Hanzo keeps his face right next to Jesse’s ear and whispers into it.  His eyes are screwed shut and his arms are holding on to Jesse like he might just disappear.  “I am here, Jesse.  I am here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey...hey...check out that chapter count... don't leave yet because epilogue, coming to you tomorrow
> 
> see ya then ~ヾ(・ω・)
> 
> And huge shout out to IAmOnlyPartlyMagestic for the beautiful fan art!!! Check it out [here](http://iamonlypartlymajestic.tumblr.com/post/177185361710/sad-old-mccreesad-current-age-hanzo-my-first)


	6. Epilogue

**20 Days Later**

 

Hanzo pulls another shirt out of the closet and stares at it with a critical look.  After a moment he throws it behind him with a disgusted sound.  Not good enough.

He and Jesse are finally going on their date that got so rudely put on hold three weeks ago.  The date where Jesse is supposed to ask him  _ the question _ .  

If Hanzo had his way they would have gone out the second they got back to Gibraltar, but Angela wanted to make sure he had no serious injuries.  She kept him locked in the med bay for four days checking him over and running every test imaginable.  Then Winston and the rest of Overwatch wanted to know what happened to him.  That actually didn’t take too long because once he explain he traveled to the future Winston ordered him not to tell them any details in fear of messing with future.  Then Lena started popping up and disappearing all over the place.  It took the whole team to keep her calm every time she showed up until Winston rebuilt the chronal accelerator. 

Hanzo was benched from the mission roster to give him time to recover.  He was fine physically but there were some days he had a hard time believing that all of that really happened.  It didn’t help that Jesse was still on the roster and that he had to go on a couple back to back missions.  (When he finally returned Hanzo refused to let him out of his sight for more than five minutes.  Jesse luckily took it in stride and didn’t complain once.  He probably had the same fears as well)  Finally, three weeks later, things had calmed down enough for them to finally go on their date. 

And Hanzo can’t find a single acceptable outfit to wear.

In a last ditch resort, Hanzo grabs his comm and shoots off a message to Genji saying he needs his help.  Five minutes later there’s a knock on his door and Genji walks in.

“Oh good, you are finally here.  I need help picking out an outfit.  And I need you to do my eyeliner.”

“For what?”

“My date with Jesse tonight.”

Genji has his visor on and Hanzo has his back to him but he can imagine the look of confusion he probably has right now.

“You never want my help with fashion.  And I specifically recall you saying you will never accept my help again after your first date with Jesse.”

Hanzo rolls his eyes.  “I know what I said, but I cannot figure out a single outfit to wear and I need to look exceptional tonight.”

“Whyyyyyy?  I thought this was just a normal date night for you two?”

Hanzo bites his lip.  He remembers what Winston said, but it looks like Genji isn’t going to help him without an explanation. 

And he’s been dying to tell someone so he can share his excitement.

He turns around with a barely contained smile.  “Jesse is going to ask me to marry him tonight.”

Genji doesn’t react for a moment, then he’s whipping his visor off and yelling, “You know about that!?”

“What?  Wait, you know about it as well?”

“Of course I know about it!  Jesse asked me for my blessing -old fashioned dork he is.  I even helped design the ring!”

“You helped design that ring?  I am surprised, I thought you abandoned all good fashion sense when you died your hair green.”

“You just asked me to pick out your outfit you asshole!  And you didn’t answer my question!”

Hanzo sighs.  “Fine.  During my time travel incident I found future Jesse and it came up in conversation.  That is when I found out.”

“Huh,” Genji says as he relaxes a little.  “You know, I was sure Jesse was going to mess this thing up somehow, I just didn’t expect him to spill the beans on himself.”  He shrugs then claps his hands together.  “Alright, let’s get to work.”

 

* * *

One hour later Hanzo walks down to the vehicle bay wearing a snug pair of black dress pants and a dark purple dress shirt with a black tie and vest that hugs his shoulders and torso.  A little bit nicer than what he would normally wear, but not too nice to reveal that he knows what’s happening tonight.  He finds Jesse leaning against one of the cars finishing off a cigarillo and also dressed to the nines.  Brown slacks, deep red shirt, and a matching brown jacket.  His hair is slicked back and his hand is playing with something in his right pocket. 

When he sees Hanzo he yanks his hand out of his pocket, stubs out his smoke, and greets Hanzo with a long kiss.

“Well hot damn, don’t you look nice.”

“Thank you, my love.  You look quite handsome tonight as well.”

Jesse grins and steals another kiss before walking around the car and opening the door for Hanzo.  They climb in and immediately find each other’s hand to hold across the center console.  Neither let go until they reach the restaurant.  Even then, they eat and talk and laugh while holding hands across the table.  Under the table though, Hanzo’s leg bounces with excited energy.  The food and wine is delicious but Hanzo wants to get out of here and get on to the main event, so to speak.

“You okay there Darlin’?” Jesse asks at one point.

“Oh, yes.  I am just happy that we are finally getting to do this.”

“Yea, me too,” he says with a smile.

By the time they finally pay the bill, Hanzo can barely contain his composure.  It’s only a lifetime of mastering discipline and self-control that keeps him from saying fuck it and blurting out ‘yes’.

The walk along the cliffs is the best kind of agony.  With his arm threaded through Jesse’s he’s forced to walk slowly and make small talk, which oh so conveniently involves reminiscing about highlights of their relationship.  When the gazebo finally comes into sight Hanzo almost breaks.  Instead he takes a calming breath and agrees when Jesse says they should stop here for a minute.

The moon is high above the Mediterranean by now and illuminates everything with a soft blue glow.  The white flowers of the Chinese Wisteria vines that wind around the structure look silver and the blue hydrangea bushes around the base have never looked more beautiful.  The light also softens Jesse’s features until all that’s left is a harmless, nervous, man who looks like he’s working up his nerves to say something important.

Jesse takes a step away from Hanzo and takes a deep breath.

“Hanzo,” he says as he looks out across the sea.  His hand goes into his pocket and pulls out something small that he hides in his palm. Finally he turns around to look at Hanzo.  “I—”

He’s cut off as Hanzo crushes their lips together in a passionate kiss.

“Yes,” Hanzo says when he comes up for air.  “Yes, yes.”

Whoops.  So much for self-control.

“But I haven’t even asked yet,” Jesse says looking a little like a kicked puppy.

“Does it really matter?”

“A little.  This is my first, an’ hopefully last, time askin’ this an’ I wanted ta do this right.”

Hanzo laughs.  “Fine.  Ask me properly so I can properly say yes.”

Jesse stares at him for a second, processing, before he laughs too and gets down on one knee.  He takes Hanzo’s hand with his left and holds the ring up in his right.

“Shimada Hanzo…” Jesse’s smiling too much to continue and he dips his head down to rest against Hanzo’s hand.

“Do I have to do this myself?  Because you know I will.”

“No, no!  I wanna do it, jus’ give me a sec.”  Jesse takes another deep breath and schools his expression into something a little more serious, but not much.  “Shimada Hanzo, we have been through a lot together.  From our rocky beginnin’s, ta gettin’ abandoned in that cave fer a couple days, ta gettin’ shit faced on the roof, ta that first kiss.  When I came back ta the ‘Watch I never expected ta meet anyone like you.  Someone so dedicated, and fierce, and carin’, and passionate. I never expected someone like you ta take an interest in me but I’m glad ya did, and I count my blessin’s every day.

“Shimada Hanzo you swept me off my feet an’ I ain’t never been right since, an’ I never wanna be right again.  So, will ya do the honor of marryin’ me?”

If Hanzo was a stronger man with more patience he would drag out the silence as long as possible just to tease Jesse.  But he isn’t.

“Yes, Jesse McCree.  I will marry you.”

Jesse jumps up and slides the ring on Hanzo’s finger.  He lets out a yell of joy then gathers Hanzo up and kisses him breathless.  Hanzo melts into the kiss and wraps his arms around Jesse’s neck.  They kiss for minutes, hours, who knows.  When the finally pull away just enough to rest their foreheads against each other they’re breathing hard and smiling harder.

“Hey sweetheart, I gotta know.  How did ya know I was gonna pop the question?  I thought I did a pretty good job keepin’ the secret.”

“You did, I had no idea until three weeks ago.”  Hanzo tells Jesse the same thing he told Genji.

“Great,” Jesse says with a slightly exaggerated sigh.  “I’m gonna have to kick my own future ass for revealing the secret.”

“Don’t do that, I am quite fond of that ass,” Hanzo says with a cheeky grin and quick squeeze.  Jesse just laughs and decides to kiss Hanzo again.  Hanzo happily returns it until he remembers something.

“Oh and by the way, for our house I am thinking a large ranch style with a wide back porch and bathhouse connected to the side.”

“Wait, you know about that too!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here we are, I hope you guys liked reading this as much as I liked writing it. Thank you so much for all your kudos and comments, I loved reading every single one of them. Also one last shout out to McTidd who i owe my life to. She helped me edit this and think of new ways to rip your hearts out and I will forever love her.
> 
> Thanks for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr [here](https://cryptidhanzoshimada.tumblr.com/)


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